Apparatus for refining paper stock



Sept. 5, 1944. cow s 2,357,316

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PAPER STOCK Filed May 9, 1941 3 sheetsrsheet l 2 lfiENTog Sept. 5, 1944. E. COWLES 2,357,316

' APPARATUS FOR REFINING' PAPER STOCK Filed May 9 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W, 5- I l i V I uyw lml l l m lll l ll 37 A? 27 $2 36 74 40 ii 37 5 M 76 i: 3 2 16 19 4 Q; 4/ "-53 g/ 'H' 46 77 55 2, 373 '36" 20 440 29 2 INENITOR ATTORNEY Sept. 5, 1944. E. COWLES APPARATUS FOR REFINING PAPER STOCK Filed May 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 5,

APPARATUS FOR DEFINING PAPER. STOCK Edwin Cowles, Cayuga, N. 12, assignmto The Cowles Company, Princeton, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey 7 Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,611

. a claims; (or. 52-23) This invention relates to apparatus for refining through wihch openings screened material may paper stock and constitutes an improvement in apparatus of the type previously disclosed in my Letters Patent No. 2.033.123,'No. 2,180,080, No. 2,218,449 and No. 2,220,676. I

It is an object of the invention to improve the performance of such machines, particularly with respect to the separation of trash, dirt and undefibcred material from clean fibrous material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the base. impeller housing and bearing member, the impellerbeing shown in elevation.-

bedischargedfromthemachine.

Mounted on the lower end of shaft 4 for rotation within the impeller housing 2 'are two sub- Haunted on the upper surface of the impeller member J6 at suitable intervals are a plurality of screen scraper: members 22 and scraper 'maybeofanydesireddesignand maybemounted on the impeller in any desired manner. As

Figure 4 is a similar view, showing the impeller a illustrated herein. the said scrapers are secured also in section.

part of the impeller.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 4, and 'Figure '7 is a section on the line 1-4 .of Figure 4.

The machine as illustrated generally in Hgures l and 2 is of the vertical type, i. e; the main shaft rotates on a vertical axis as hereinafter described. A base I rests on any suitable foundation and may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. Immediately above the base I is an annular impeller housing 2, and above the impeller housing is a bearing member 3 for the lower end of the main shaft 4. Above the bearing tion gears to provide for rotation of shaft I at,

the desired speed. 7

The base I and bearing member 3, in addition to serving their functions as base and shaft bearing, respectively, also serve as end closure 7 members for .the' impeller housing 2, and the three, members constitute a casing forthe worklng parts of the machine. Furthermore, the base I' is provided with an annular chamber II for screened material, while the bearing member 3 is provided with a similar annular chamber l2, also for screened material.- Chamber II is provided with an outlet opening l3 and chamber I2 to the impeller by bolts 24 and are'made of flexible material so that the scraping edges may bear against the screens hereinafter described.

The impeller members are also each provided withanannularrimorflangefiarounditsouter periplmry, but this rim is broken as indicated at 26 (Figures 5 and 7) adjacent the scraper members to provide outlet passages for the screen billings, i. e. the rejected material which fails to pass through the screens and is scraped therefrom by the scraper members. I

The upper and lower impeller members are also each provided'with a set of impeller vanes 22 mounted ontheir upper and lower surfaces.

respectively, for a purpose hereinafter described.

cannot enter the chambers II and I2 without passing through the screen perforations. Thus, the anner and outer peripheral edges of the screens are scaled between opposed rings 32, 33, 34 and 35 which; in turn, are seated and sealed in the base and bearing member, respectively. Cross bars 36 extend transversely between the is provided with a similar outlet opening ll, rings 32 and33, and thrse, together with the conin said rims.

, 4|, and are provided with a plurality of slots 40 which afford communication between-the space 2| and the screening chambers 4| where the active screening operation takes place, the screening chambers being otherwise separated from the space 2| by the impeller members. The upper The screening action obtained in the screenin chamber is similar to that described in my prior ,patents before referred to, but a novel feature impeller member is is also provided with slots 42 close to the hub l8 which afford communication between the space 2| and an outlet passage 43 formed in the member 3. It will be understood that the passage 43 is entirely separated from and has no communication with the annular chamber |2.

'I'heimpeller housing 2 is provided with three separate annular chambers, the chamber 46 being located opposite the space 2| and in direct and open communication therewith, and the chambers 41 and 48 being located opposite the rim of the impeller members I 8 and II, respectively, and

in communication with the outlet passages 26 The chamber 46 is provided-with an inlet passage 49 arranged substantially tangentially to the said chamber in the manner and for the purposes set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,220,676. The chamber 48 is also provided with an outlet opening 5| communicating with the passage 52 in the manifold 53. chambers 41 and 48 are provided with outlet openings communicating with passages 54 and 55, respectively, in the manifold 53.

The operation of the apparatus may now be described. As previously described in Patent No.

2,220,676, the stock to be treated is introduced 49 at relatively highvelocity, 1. e. 1500 lineal feet per minute or more,

through the inlet opening and at the same time the impeller members l5 and 11 are rotated to cause the rim velocities to approximate the velocity of the inflowing stock.

It will be apparent, therefore, that the stock whirling in the chamber 46 and space 2| is subjected to a relatively intense centrifugal separating action, so that heavy constituents, such as particles of sand, metal, glass and the like tend to move outwardly toward the periphery of the chamber 48, where they may find their way into the passage 52 through which they may be dislight constituents such as bits of wood, rubber, cork and the like tend to move inwardly toward the hubs, where they may find their way into the slots 42 and thence to the passage 43 through which they may be discharged from the machine.

Likewise, the

of the present apparatus is the discharge of the screen tailings through the passage 26 into the chambers 41 and 48; and thence into passages 54 and for discharge from the machine. In the machines disclosed in my prior patents, the

the impeller chamber until removed through an outlet opening-therefrom.

The vanes 28 serve not only to feed stock into the screening chambers 4|, but also serve to maintain a pressure therein which is slightly greater than the pressure in the space 2| and chamber 48, and in the operation of the machine thespeed of rotation of the impeller is so adjusted as to cause such greater pressure to be maintained therein. The recesses 29 in the periphery of the impeller members likewise tend to maintain a pressure in the chambers 41 and 48 which is slightly greater than the pressure in the space 2| and chamber 46. Consequently any flow of stock through the space between the rims of the impellers and the walls of the member 2 proceeds from the screening chambers to the space 2| and chamber 46 rather than in the reverse direction.- This insures that all stock entering the screening chambers shall have first been subjected to centrifugal separating action, and also prevents good fibrous material from being lost by passing to the outlet passages 54 and 55 without first being subjected to screening action.

The combination of centrifugal separating action with a screening action and a separation of the screening chambers from the chamber wherein the centrifugal action takes place,

' whereby. only centrifugally treated material is charged from the machine. On the other hand,

Since'the space 2| is substantially unobstructed, I

being devoid of vanes or other members tending to create turbulence, eddies and the like, the centrifugal separating action is very eflective.

At the same time, stock moves from the space through the slots 40 to the screening chambers 4|,-but it will be noted that since the stock makes a complete reversal of direction, i. e. through 180, in entering the screening chambers, it is very difficult for anylight constituents to enter the screening chambers, as they tend to continue on their path toward the slots 42. Consequently, as a result of the centrifugal action described, the stock which enters the screening chambers is already separated from much undesirable waste or trash material, and an improved screening result is obtained thereby.

admitted to the screening chambers, together with the direct removal of screen tailings from the screening chambers, results in the production I of remarkably clean deflbered stock, which, of course, is delivered from the machine through the outlet openin s l3 and I4.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subioined claims.

I claim as my invention:

'1. Apparatus for refining paper stock, comprising, in combination, a casing, a flat, annular screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separating said chamber from said screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screeninm chamber, and said impeller disk being provided with a passage near the hub through which stock may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber.

2. Apparatus for refining paper stock, comprising, in combination, a casing, a'flat, annular screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and seprating said chamber from screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, a series of vanes mounted on said lmpeller in said screening chamber, and said impeller being provided with a passage near the hub through which stock may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber.

3. Apparatus for refining paper stock, comprising, in combination, va casing, a flat, annular screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separating said chamber from said screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, scrapers mounted on said impeller in said screen- 1 ing chamber and bearing against said screen, and

prising, in combination, a casing, a flat, annular screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides or said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separating said chamber from said screen, but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, a series of vanes mounted on said impeller in said screening chamber, scrapers mounted on said impeller in said screening chamber, and said impeller being provided with a passage near the hub through which stock may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber.

5. Apparatus for refining paper stock, comprising, in combination, a casing, a flat, annular screen in said casing, said-casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separating said chamber from said screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, said impeller disk being provided with a passage near the hub'through which stock may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber, said impeller having a rim provided with a. passage through which screen tailings may be removed from said screening chamber, and said casing being provided with a chamber opposite said passage to receive said screen tailings,

said last named chamber being separated from said impeller chamber.

'7. Apparatus for refining paper stock, comprising, in combination, a casing, a flat, annular screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separating said chamber from said screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, a series of vanes mounted on said impeller in said screening chamber, scrapers mountedon said impeller in said screening chamber, said impeller being provided with a passage near the hub through which stock may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber said impeller having a rim provided with a passage through which screen tailings may be removed from said screening chamber, and said 40 ing, in combination, a casing, a flat, annular screen, said casing having an impeller chamber,

may flow from said impeller chamber to said screening chamber, andsaid'impeller being 'pro-' screen in said casing, said casing having inlet and outlet openings on opposite sides of said screen, said casing having an impeller chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamber, said impeller being in the form of a disk extending outwardly from the hub of said impeller to the outer periphery of said screen and separatingv vided with a passage through which screen tailscreen, said casing having an impeller chamber,

an impeller mounted for rotation in said chamher; said impeller being in the term or a disk said chamber from said screen but being spaced from said screen to provide a screening chamber, said impeller disk being provided with a passage near the hub through which stock may flow ircm said impeller chamber to said screening cham-- ber, said impeller chamber having an open, substantially unobstructed space therein wherein the stock is subjected to centrifugal separating action, said impeller chamber having, a peripheral outlet opening for the discharge or heavy waste material, and said impeller disk having an additional passage near the hub for the discharge of lightwaste material. I

' EDWIN COWLES. 

